Students get with the program in their schools' Junior ROTC

Vu Nguyen wanted to stay in the Navy Junior ROTC program because he enjoyed polishing his shoes. But when he transferred to Brighton High School during his sophomore year, swapped uniforms, and joined ranks with the school's Army program, something felt amiss.

"They were already shined for me," the Dorchester resident said near the end of an April 18 panel at the Brighton Marine Health Center that featured three women with different military careers discussing the obstacles and challenges they faced. The panelists had asked the students what they liked, and disliked, about the program.

Now in his senior year, Nguyen is one of 137 students participating in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Brighton High, according to Gregory Taylor, a retired first sergeant who has led the cadets since the program started 17 years ago.

There are about a dozen Junior ROTC programs at high schools across the city, Taylor said, alternating classes covering government and law with drill practices, physical fitness, and community service. Those in the program do not necessarily join the military upon graduating. In fact, Taylor said, more teenagers enroll in the military from outside the program. "That's not because the population is greater, but because most of these students go to college, and the majority of them end up graduating from college," he said.

Nguyen, who said he plans to attend Regis College, is not sure whether he will enlist once he earns his bachelor's degree. He initially joined Junior ROTC, he said, because his friends convinced him it would be a better alternative to taking a music class. "I didn't like singing much," he said.

"Most of the students at school don't know what it's like being in the military," Nguyan said. As upperclassmen, he and other seniors help guide the younger cadets.

"We just teach them skills to prepare them for college, or anything else they would like to do."

RICHARD THOMPSON